


Actions Speak Louder Than Words

by HOMOGRIMOIRE



Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: M/M, fairgameweek2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23169541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HOMOGRIMOIRE/pseuds/HOMOGRIMOIRE
Summary: Day 2: Date / Domestic ... Date!Alternate Title: Let Them Eat Cake (For Breakfast) Qrow gets help from Team RWBY for his date with a certain lucky man, and, ultimately, has a nice time.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665481
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	Actions Speak Louder Than Words

**Author's Note:**

> Day two is here! The songs I listened to this time were: City of Commerce from NieR: Gestalt, 'cause I liked it's calm sound, and Be My Baby by The Ronettes, because of the lyrics and the sound. And those old skool love songs really do hit differently. Enjoy!

Against his better judgement, he told Ruby, who then got Yang, Weiss, and Blake involved, that he was going on a date with Clover. He ended up spending the latter half of a day with them at what seemed like a million different shops. It was torture, but had to admit it was nice to spend some time with them outside of a life or death situation. He could once again see that his nieces had more …  _ unique _ tastes. Ruby kept recommending outfits that were pretty cool, but were also too much for a date. Yang had her father’s fashion sense, of course, but unlike her father, she could pull it off. This meant that her choices weren’t particularly good for a date either. Qrow considers it a miracle Tai ever got any dates. Weiss and Blake fared much better in helping Qrow. Blake recommended more sensible outfits that he found more agreeable. Weiss’ recommendations were a bit more eccentric than Blake’s, but were still appropriate for a date. Sure, it was all a lot of fuss for what wasn’t even their first date, but Qrow did have fun, and the girls did get some new clothes too. 

Qrow ended up getting a new pair of black slacks, a simple red and black leather vest, and a dark gray long sleeved shirt to wear under. While it wasn’t their first date, it was their first one to an actual restaurant and not the cafeteria or one of their rooms. Having the girls approve of the new outfit helped him feel more confident about what was probably their first real date. When Weiss asked what restaurant they were going to, he told her it was some place called “The City of Commerce”, which, according to Clover, was “nothing too fancy.” However, seeing her jaw drop when he told her made him concerned. 

“Uhh, Weiss?” Ruby asked, trying to break her out of her stupor. She did shae herself out of it after a moment. 

“Nothing fancy!? What does he do, eat with the gods everyday?! Forgive me,” she said, regaining her composure, “it’s just that it’s literally the most difficult restaurant to get into in Atlas. My father was on the waitlist for a year before he could make a reservation. My father. Head of the Schnee Dust Company. A year! We’ve only been here a few months!” Her expression shifted from crazed to that of someone who realized something. “Oh my gods were sending you dressed like that.” 

“Come on Weiss, his outfit isn’t that bad.” said Yang. “Vests and slacks are fancy clothes, right?”

“No, Yang, you don’t get it. My coat was made from the fur of an extinct animal. My dress had cost more than what your dad will probably make in his lifetime, and that was just  _ me.  _ They almost didn’t let Winter in because they said her earrings didn’t match her outfit. They were purple diamonds from our mother that were cut to look like the Schnee logo and had a solid gold outline. They cost more than everything we have on us.” They all could only stare at Weiss in disbelief, and then at Qrow with concern. By that time, they were already back at the academy and all the shops were bound to be closed, and Qrow certainly didn’t have the time to get a fitted suit made. He considered asking James, but the man was built like a truck, so anything he had would be too big. He couldn’t call Clover because the man had a sleep schedule that he rigidly followed, and Qrow couldn’t bring himself to wake him up. Even worse, their reservation was in the morning, just as the place opened.

“I think it’ll be fine. If Clover had any concerns, he probably would have told you, right?” Blake said, breaking the dreadful silence, only to be met with more silence. “... Right?” 

“I mean, she has a point. It’s Clover we’re talking about, the leader of the Ace Ops, General Ironwood’s right hand man, the man who will be hurt very badly if he breaks our uncle’s heart! He’s not gonna mess this up.” There were murmurs of agreement by the girls. Yang laid a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “You’ll be fine Uncle Qrow.” 

“Yeah, I guess I will Firecracker.” He gave her a little smile, which she returned in full.

“That’s what I like to hear!”

“I’d like to hear the sound of my head hitting a pillow if you ask me.” They laughed at his little joke. 

“Alright, alright, we’ll get going. Good night Uncle Qrow.” said Yang. 

“Good night Uncle Qrow!” said the rest of them as they went their way. Hearing Weiss and Blake call him that still seemed so surreal. Even Nora, Ren, and Jaune had started calling him that a while back too. At first, he would tell them to knock it off, and that he could hardly qualify as their uncle. Despite this, they persisted and he eventually gave up on getting them to stop, even though he still felt that it made no sense for them to be calling him such. Only recently did he see why they did think of him as their Uncle Qrow, and that was thanks to Clover. Clover helped him see that he did do a lot of good for those kids, and that they cared for him. Not to mention that Ren and Nora were orphans most of their life, so Qrow was probably one of the few adults to really care for them. The only adult, as far as he knew, that really cared for Weiss was Winter, but she could only be with Weiss for so long because of her job. He had a good feeling that Blake was gonna be his future niece-in-law, so he would probably have to get used to it eventually. As for Jaune, he couldn’t really think of any reason he could call him Uncle Qrow, save for the fact that was common among all the kids: they all cared for Qrow, just as he cared for them. At least now, he could accept that he wasn’t so undeserving of such love. 

As Qrow laid down in bed, hair still somewhat moist from a shower, he hoped that the morning would turn out alright. Despite his talk with the kids earlier, there was still a nagging feeling of dread. It was fortunate that he was slowly but surely learning to ignore that irrational voice. Qrow knew that he was loved, and was deserving of love. He knew that Clover wouldn’t get something like this wrong either. Soon, he fell asleep, hopeful that tomorrow would be alright. 

-

Qrow awoke early in the morning to get ready. It had been some time since he had been on a real date, and even longer he had been on one sober. It was exciting, but still very terrifying to him. He just didn’t want to mess things up, which he had felt he was prone to do because of his semblance. While Qrow had been making progress in controlling his semblance, which he was training with Clover to do, his control was not yet where he would like it to be. But, any sort of control was better than none, so Qrow wasn’t going to complain. If anything, he felt a bit proud of that growth, and that was in part because Clover was genuinely proud of him too. Qrow remembers the first time he showed some control over his semblance, and Clover congratulated him with his bright smile and a pat on the back. It was at that moment that Qrow realized that he was in love with the man. Coincidentally, Clover confessed to him a few days after and they had been dating since. 

Before leaving his room, Qrow looked at himself in the mirror. His clothes that needed to be ironed were freshly ironed, free of any wrinkles, and fit his body rather well. His hair was gelled and styled nicely. Ever since Clover expressed how much he liked his gray hairs, Qrow had felt more confident about it. He could understand where Clover was coming from, since he found Clover’s gray hairs to be pretty hot too. He had also applied some eyeliner that Blake recommended. He mentally noted that he should stock up on some of that brand. Over all, Qrow was very pleased with how he looked. If there was anything he was ever confident about, it was his looks and fashion sense, and felt that the outfit really made him look good, especially since it displayed all his best assets well. As a last minute addition, he tied a green handkerchief around his neck. He checked himself out in the mirror one last time and left his room feeling very good and satisfied, and made his way down to the front of the academy where Clover had texted him a taxi would be waiting. 

Qrow was the first to arrive and waited just inside of the Academy for Clover. It was too cold to be waiting outside, especially in the morning. Qrow was too eager to be doing much else, so he stared at the elevator, waiting for his date to pop out, which happened soon after he sat down. With a ding, the elevator doors opened and revealed Clover. He was wearing light grey pants that were tucked into black boots, and a green sweater vest that was textured with an interweaving pattern. The sweater vest, which had his signature pin tacked on, was a surprise, but the real kicker was that Clover only wore a white collared tank top underneath, with the collar flipped up and open, rather than folded flat and closed. And of course, this left his arms showing, with his red handkerchief showing on one arm.

Qrow wasn’t sure what he expected Clover to wear, but it wasn’t an outfit like that. The pants and boots were normal enough, but the top was just questionable. Normally, he would have been heavily judging the outfit, but Clover somehow made it work. Qrow had almost felt ashamed for finding it hot. If Summer were here, she would have had to hold back a laugh because the outfit was ridiculous and Qrow was ridiculous for finding the simple outfit hot.

“Hey there hot stuff.” said Clover as he exited the elevator. All Qrow could do was stare at Clover, his mind dissonant because he couldn’t decide if he liked the outfit or not. But, the more he looked, the more he liked it, though that just could have been because Clover was wearing the outfit. Oh the things people do for love. “Based on your reaction, I guess I’m hot stuff too.” Clover gave Qrow a kiss on the cheek, which managed to bring Qrow back to reality.

“Sorry, I just realized that it's my first time seeing you in a normal outfit. It looks pretty good on you. Besides, its definitely a lot better than the outfit of some snobby Atlesian.” 

“Ha! At least someone can appreciate my fashion sense.” Clover told him half jokingly, with his arm around Qrow’s as they walked to the taxi. “Seriously, you have no idea how often I get told I have a terrible sense of fashion.” As they got to the taxi, Clover opened the door for Qrow with an “After you.” and bow. Clover could see a light blush rising in his love’s face.

“You know just how to make a guy feel special, don't you?” 

“Only for the best.” Of course, Clover winked. As he was getting in, he noticed that Qrow’s lap looked very enticing. He could see himself sitting in Qrow’s lap, one leg over the other and his arms wrapped around Qrow who would be adorably flustered. But, decided that a car probably wasn’t the best place to do that. 

“Clover? Can I talk to you, from one ten to another?” Qrow asked once they settled down.

“You’re an eleven, but yes, you can.” Qrow wondered how Clover could possibly be so smooth.

“Okay, we're both hot, and I’m at least conventionally fashionable, right?”

“Right.” Clover responded.

“So, I’m curious, why that outfit?”

“Hmm… If I’m being honest, its the most formal clothing I have, besides my uniform. A sweater vest is the most formal I can get while still not wearing sleeves. Ugh.”

“What do you have against sleeves, lucky charm?” Qrow made sure to put emphasis on his sleeves. Seeing Clover laugh at the display made him laugh as well. 

“If you must know my dark history with sleeves, its that I find them too constricting.” 

“Damn, I wonder why.” He noticed that Qrow was looking at his arms. 

“Don't patronize them Qrow. They've got a sleeve count higher than your grimm count. Before the end of my first week in the academy, none of my shirts had sleeves.” Clover gave a jokingly wistful look, as if he mourned the sleeves. Qrow hates Atlas, and couldn’t have been paid to attend its academy, but if he were forced to, he imagines it would have at least been somewhat tolerable if he were with Clover.

“And here I thought my fashion mishap during my first week at Beacon was bad.” Qrow silently cursed the can of worms he had opened, and by the look on Clover’s face, his expression had shown his regret. For a moment, they were silent.

“... So, you gonna tell me what it was?” Clover asked. Qrow kept his head facing forward, cause he knew that if he turned to face Clover, he could not resist giving in. However, Clover was too strong, and Qrow gave in, looked at his cute face, and sighed.

“Alright, alright, you win. My sister tricked me into thinking that skirts were a part of the uniform for everyone, so I was stuck with only skirts to wear for my first week.” Qrow expects to hear a laugh, but doesn’t.

“That must have been quite the sight. Makes me wish I went to Beacon instead.” And of course, Qrow noticed Clover eyeing his legs, though Qrow certainly didn't mind. Before they could continue their conversation, the vehicle came to a stop and their driver alerted them that they reached their destination. Qrow quickly got out as Clover got out his wallet to give the driver a tip. He appeared on the other side of the car and opened the door for Clover.

“You know just how to make a guy feel special, don't you?” 

“Only for the best.” said Qrow with a wink of his own. It warmed his heart to make Clover blush and laugh a little. Arm in arm, they walked towards the entrance of the restaurant. Once inside, Qrow remembered all the stuff Weiss had told him, and he was filled with dread. Clover immediately picked up on this and asked what was wrong.

“Weiss told me about this place, and it sounded harsh.” Qrow could feel himself beginning to sweat.

“Oh, about the dress code and wait list and all that? Yeah, I don't have to worry about that. I saved the owner’s children from a grimm some time ago. They let me make a reservation the day before and bypass the dress code. I also get fifty percent off the food. Lucky me huh? Oh, and don’t worry about being in all … that.” he said, motioning to all the snobbish Atlesians. “I got us a private booth.” 

“Ooo, lucky us.” They both laughed. 

“Reservation for Ebi, Clover.” he told the receptionist.

“Ah, yes. You again.” His words held the slightest bit of disgust. “Please take a seat, we will call you shortly.” Clover, ignoring the receptionist's distaste, noticed that there was only one seat available, and immediately hatched a clever play.

“You can take the chair Qrow.”

“What about you?” Qrow asked, unaware of the other man’s plan.

“I’ll be fine. If I’m lucky, a seat will open up soon for me.” Qrow only gave a chuckle as he took the seat. A moment after he sat, Clover said “Found one.” and proceeded to sit right in Qrow’s lap. Just as planned, Qrow short-circuited into a blushing mess. He was quick to recover his mind, but there was nothing he could do about the blush. “Oh! I’m sorry. Is this seat taken?” He asked as he patted one of Qrow’s thighs as if it were an empty seat. 

“I was saving it for my boyfriend, but I guess you’ll do.” Qrow replied, trying to hide his embarrassment but unable to.

“You have a boyfriend? He must be a very lucky guy to have a man like you.”

“You could say that.”

“Your table is ready, sirs.” the receptionist made no effort to hide how done he was. They both got up.

“Looks like my date isn’t here yet. Wanna join me instead baby?” And in an act of revenge, he winked. Now it was Clover’s turn to try to hide a blush. Qrow was out for blood, and his weapon was pet names. Regardless, Clover tried to still act cool as they followed their waiter to their table.

“How could I say no no a face like that. I feel bad for the unlucky guy that didn’t show up.” He managed to get Qrow to laugh again. He wouldn’t trade the little moments like those for the world. As they walked and talked, they noticed people turning their heads to stare at the two men who stood out so much. Soon, they were at the back of the dimly lit restaurant where there was a booth that had a thick purple silk curtain for privacy. Inside was a decently sized round table with a lit candle in the center that gave off an almost divine scent. The curved seating allowed them to sit next to each other. The waiter left them with their menus and gave them a device to notify the waiter when they were ready. 

“So, Clover, you’ve been here before. What’s good?”

“Literally everything Qrow. This place is six out of five stars. They even serve just about anything, as long its classy or exotic. That’s why this place is called The City of Commerce. They have all kinds of foods from all over Remnant, though the embargo has made things a bit tougher to get, this place manages somehow. I think they stockpile stuff, or grow it all themselves somewhere around here.”

“Or maybe they smuggle it.”

“That’s a possibility.”

“What do you usually get?”

“Fish, though I try to try a different kind each time.” 

“Hmm, I think I’ll try the … I can't even pronounce this, but It looks good.”

“Oh gods I’m not even going to try either. It does look good though.” They both continued to search and read through their menu, showing each other some mouth-watering food that looked like it was made by the gods. Eventually, Qrow reached the desserts, and was left in awe of a certain dish.

“By the brothers...”

“What is it?” Clover questioned, intrigued by what could prompt such a response.

“Is it bad if I have dessert for breakfast?” Qrow asked, still staring at the menu in awe.

“I’m not gonna judge you. I would come alone to the most expensive restaurant in the world just to have some fish. Besides, it’s our day off. We should have some fun.” Qrow still hadn’t looked up from the menu. “You know what?” Clover shut his menu. “I’ll have what you're having.” Clover activated the device and gave the waiter, who appeared almost instantly, their order “What is it anyways?” Qrow flipped his menu, which the waiter let them keep in case they wanted anything more, over to show him. It looked kind of like a fancy layered dark chocolate cake and nothing more. 

“It’s made from a rare plant that’s only in season for a few months every few years. It’s not like anything you’ve ever tasted before. I think you’ll like it.”

“Color me intrigued. It certainly looks good.” Cloer hoped that he would like it. It was rare to see Qrow so excited over something, so he didn’t want to disappoint him

“Oh, you're gonna love it. If there’s anything good that came out of that tribe, it’s that dessert.”

“And you.” Clover reminded him. If someone had told Clover that he was going to fall in love with the greatest huntsman alive and go on an actual date with him, he would tell that person that he wasn’t that lucky. Yet, here he was, and Clover couldn’t be more grateful to be loved by the great Qrow Branwen.

“Alright, and me.” Qrow had to admit that Clover’s constant insisting that he was a great man was working on him. He did feel really good. After chatting, laughing, sipping on their drinks, and eating the complementary biscuits, their order finally arrived. 

“It looks even better in person.”

“It’ll taste even better than it looks. Take a bite! I wanna see your face when you try it!” Qrow was visibly excited to share one of the few good parts of his past with Clover.

“Don’t worry, I am.” Clover got his fork and took a piece of the moist slice. Immediately, his eyes widened. He swallowed the piece and told Qrow “Oh my gods this is so good.” He immediately took another bite, savoring the flavor and texture this time. He looked at Qrow as he took his first bite of the slice of cake. “Is it as good as you remember?” he asked.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Maybe even better.” 

“Lucky you, huh?” Qrow replied with a small laugh. They continued to enjoy being in each other’s presence as they ate. However, Clover noticed a wistful look on Qrow’s face. “What’s wrong Qrow?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. This old bird is just being sentimental.” Qrow said as he looked down at the cake slice. 

“Want to talk about it?” Clover asked as he took another bite.

“I was just thinking about when I was in the tribe. Looking back, it was pretty bad, but it wasn’t all bad, you know. I guess I just miss the small things like this, back when me and Raven were younger and close. But, that’s all in the past. I’ve got better things now, like the kids, you, … this cake.” 

“Aww, Qrow.” Clover knew that he shouldn't be surprised that Qrow thought so well of him, all things considered, but he was still caught off guard. Sure, he had received tons of compliments before, but they were superficial more often than not. However, this complement was very genuine, and from the man he could say with confidence that he loved. 

“Don’t be going soft on me now Lucky Charm.”

“I think I can afford to be a little soft when I’m on a date with my boyfriend.”

“Hmph, if you say so.” Qrow replied, his own expression also soft.

“But, speaking of cake, how about we see if we can get a full cake to take back with us. We can share it with the kids, and make some new memories.”

“That … sounds nice. I’d like that.” Qrow noticed that Clover was lovingly gazing at him, obviously enamored. Qrow knew that he wasn’t a lucky man, but if the universe had ever given him any compensation for his bad luck, he knew that it was Clover. “Hey, Clover?”

“Yes?” he responded. His head on one of his hands as he still stared lovingly at his boyfriend.

“I just want to say thanks. For all these past months. You’ve helped me out a lot, and stuff. So, uh, thanks. Again.” Before Clover could respond, Qrow moved in for a kiss on the lips. It was not a short kiss, nor a long one, but it was still intimate nonetheless. “Love you.” Qrow could see that Clover was somewhat surprised. “I’m not the best with words, so-” He was cut off by Clover gently pulling him in closer for a slower, longer, and passionate kiss. 

“I love you too Qrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fashion disaster Clover is a favorite headcanon of mine. Also, I may have based his outfit on an outfit of mine's. Sweater vests without anything sleeved under is a good but strange mix of formal and sexy. Are you going to a teacher's conference? Yes. Is it being held at a night club? Yes. This is the fic where I started having some real fun, and it shows in the word count. I did not intend for it to be 4k, but, that's what happened. It's also barely there, but I also hc that Clover was a pretty lonely guy. God, I have lots of feelings about Clover and Qrow, but don't we all? Anyways, thanks for the read, hope you enjoyed! (P.S. don't mind me injecting NieR references, I'm not trying to subconsciously influence any of you or anything)


End file.
